From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

At this moment, Professor McGonagall, who had finally managed to calm the students down, looked at her lesson plan and, for the first time, began to doubt herself—

'Isn't the Vanishing Charm, as the first spell taught in fifth grade, a bit too difficult and discouraging for students?'

Note: Books in the restricted section should theoretically require a professor's approval. Although Hermione claimed to have browsed the restricted section's list in the sixth year, she obtained the approval too easily; Professor Slughorn liked her too much.

If upperclassmen can access the restricted book section on their own, the restricted book section is basically useless. Lowerclassmen have too many ways to get restricted books from upperclassmen, so there's no need to go to the trouble of tricking them into signing them.

Chapter Sixty-Four: On the Eve of Another Wave of Exams

As William contentedly placed the book on the table, his stomach, finally receiving attention, immediately issued a warning.

William rubbed his neck, which had become a little stiff from reading for a long time, and checked the time—it was 12:30.

'No wonder I'm so hungry; I lost track of time once I started reading.'

William muttered a helpless complaint about himself as he began to gather the books and notes on the table.

William put the notes into the paper bag containing the exam papers and clipped it shut. Then he picked up the thick stack of books and left the desk next to the restricted book section.

The library was empty at that moment; the students had obviously gone to the cafeteria for lunch. Mrs. Pince, however, had not left. She was sitting near the door, engrossed in reading a book.

"Borrowing so many?"

As Mrs. Pince greeted them, she pointed to the quill pen beside her—which immediately began copying the book title and the borrower's name onto the parchment.

"By the way, Professor, the maximum borrowing period for each book is half an academic year. If you need to renew the loan, you must come here to register."

This is from an experience of being scammed by other professors who didn't return books.

William smiled and agreed, then simply took a pile of books back to his office—since it was past lunchtime anyway, he might as well have his house-elf bring some food over.

'Endless books, high salaries, house-elves practically their personal servants, and a bunch of students who can rightfully lecture them on profound principles.'

William ate the lunch that the elf Bart had brought him while lost in thought.

'If it weren't for that damn curse, this profession would be a dream job, wouldn't it?'

'But if it weren't for that curse, how would I have gotten the professorship at this school?'

...

"Why are you worrying about all that nonsense! You'll catch up on what you've missed. You've already completed nine years of compulsory education; Hogwarts only has seven years. You've studied more than twice as long as those students. You did well in the earlier classes, and you'll continue to do so. What are you worried about?"

William shook his head vigorously, trying to banish the bad thoughts that suddenly surfaced—another lingering effect of Azkaban.

Those Dementors shouldn't exist in this world!

He relaxed his tense nerves today, and the negative emotions that had been suppressed for days just kept surfacing.

Even though he had been out of Azkaban for some time, the experience had a profound impact on William. Even though he chose to stay in bars and let the large crowds wash away the smell of Azkaban, he still couldn't completely get rid of the habits he had been forced to develop by constantly reliving his sadness.

'I'll never come back to eat alone when I can go to the dining hall again; I need to stay in the crowd. Luckily, there are enough people at Hogwarts.'

Thinking of this, William couldn't even stay in the room any longer. He summoned the elf to deal with the leftover food while eagerly stuffing the chocolate into his mouth.

-

"William? Why are you so late?"

"I stayed in the library for a while, went back to put my things down, and came back around this time."

William responded to Adams' question with a smile, glancing at the alchemy professor beside him who was intently working on his lamb chops.

"I didn't see you this morning, Professor Singed."

"Adequate sleep is more important than breakfast."

You can just say you can't get up—how ​​much free time is there in the alchemy class schedule anyway!

William couldn't help but feel ashamed. He had almost had a series of bad thoughts because he was able to free up time from his classes. Looking at others and then at himself, his behavior just now was simply pathetic!

"Come on, Singed. I picked flowers all night last night and got up early this morning to finish my task. You guys just have fewer classes, otherwise, let's see if you dare to do this!"

Adams finished his grumbling with a disgusted expression, then glanced around and, noticing that the other professors weren't paying much attention, quietly asked them a question.

"William, you don't look well. Are you sick?"

"I was probably really hungry. I just ate some chocolate, and I feel much better now."

"That's good. If anything feels off, go to Mrs. Pomfrey. Professor Snape is actually better at it—but, well, you know, he's not good with you guys."

It was an open secret among all the students and faculty that Professor Snape had always wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Even though William changed his name, it didn't change the professor's resentment towards him—just as all the professors knew that Professor McGonagall had always looked down on the Divination professor.

However, Adams' interruption reminded William of his old ways—if it weren't so indecent to slap his head in front of a bunch of professors, he would have done it right now.

There's a magic potion!

In fact, the aftereffects that had troubled him for so long could be completely treated with ecstasy. Although the side effects were significant, the consequences were not serious if it was not taken regularly.

Forget about getting school supplies; Professor Snape is the Dean, so you can give up on getting public tools from the school.

'This weekend I'll go to Gringotts and open my vault, take out those tools, and my school office will serve as a residence; you never know when it might come in handy.'

William quietly added an item to his action plan.

But just as he was making his calculations, Adams' voice came again.

"Okay, it's settled then. Everyone's free on Wednesday afternoon, so we can go to Pighead Bar for a drink. Being a professor is great in every way, but the fact that you can't go to a pub to drink is annoying."

and many more!

I was just thinking about the problem and my answers were mostly casual "uh-huh" and "yeah". How did you manage to negotiate?

"Wednesday is a workday, isn't it inappropriate to drink on that day?"

"It's alright, it's just a welcome to our new colleague. Professor McGonagall will turn a blind eye. Two-thirds of my students from last year passed the OWLs exam."

Before anyone knew it, William's Wednesday afternoon was all set up, and Adams even stopped talking about the topic and started discussing this year's Quidditch matches.

This topic was clearly more public than the previous ones, and it didn't take long for several professors nearby to join in, seriously discussing who should win this year's Quidditch league championship.

Because the noise was so loud, Professor McGonagall, who was in the middle of the auditorium, even stared at this side several times.

"Don't worry, William."

Even while discussing the game, Adams didn't forget to drop a little tidbit.

"Don't let Professor McGonagall's nonchalant attitude fool you. She's a former Quidditch player from the school, and when it comes to Quidditch knowledge, no one at this table knows as much as she does."

Chapter Sixty-Five: There's a Price to Pay for Failing Someone's Course

"So, why are we all wrapped up like this?"

William, completely covered in a gray hooded cloak, asked Adams beside him with a hint of helplessness. As for the alchemy professor who had come with him, he simply gave up asking—the latter's face was wrapped in bandages, and he was clearly enjoying the outfit.

“You don’t understand, William. This is the rule. The Pig’s Head is all about using bandages and cloaks to hide your identity.”

Aren't you wizards?

Why not use a different method to conceal the magic points?

Although such a thought immediately popped into William's mind, he instantly understood why—compared to magic, Muggle methods of concealment have a lower barrier to entry and are less likely to be discovered.

If someone casually uses advanced Transfiguration to hide themselves and then orders a familiar drink, well, Professor Dumbledore, what brings you here?

"Wait a minute, William, hide your wand better. Don't leave it in such an offensive place. It might be convenient, but the people in the bar won't really appreciate it."

Once Adams was sure she was done with her makeup, she began to give William pointers on his attire.

William readily agreed and placed the wand in a more concealed but equally easy-to-draw position, leaving Adams speechless.

"You guys, um, are all self-defense professors this sensitive to danger?"

"I'm used to it; it's better to keep the wand where it's convenient to hold it."

"Alright, here's the bandage, wrap it up."

Adams handed over a brand new roll of bandages. "Try not to use magic bandages. Someone almost strangled themselves while drunk."

"Aren't bandages unnecessary?"

William looked at the roll of bandages with disdain. He could just cover it up with a cloak, but what difference was there between being wrapped up like a mummy?

"Unnecessary?" The bandages on the alchemy professor's face twitched, looking rather comical. "Professor William, have you forgotten what you did? Guess why I covered my face?"

Professor Singed, did you know that the more cheeky you are, the less hair you get? It's like your hair is cursed to fall out!

William inwardly scoffed, but merely responded with a smile, showing no intention of saying anything more.

During yesterday afternoon's exam, he failed both Slytherin and Gryffindor students, successfully achieving a total wipeout.

Although the system, which had a very weak presence, didn't give any notification, he still felt for a moment that he had cleared a dungeon for the first time.

Just as he had predicted, without the exam papers, not many of those tricky questions could be leaked. In fact, judging from the exam results, those students didn't even know from the students in the other two colleges that there was an exam in the first class!

Unfortunately, the students he failed had to attend Transfiguration class in the afternoon—to make it easier for professors to prepare lessons, classes for the same grade were basically scheduled for the same day.

This really worried Professor McGonagall. At dinner, she made a point of sitting next to William, and the two talked about the exam for more than fifteen minutes.

This was just on the professor's side; the students were actually arguing.

William had heard from people in the prison that there was a strange hierarchy of contempt at Hogwarts—Ravenclaws, who considered themselves intelligent, looked down on Slytherins who relied on bloodlines, and on Gryffindors who acted impulsively, but they were on good terms with Hufflepuff.

Slytherin, on the other hand, didn't get along with anyone and looked down on everyone.

The Gryffindors, who are sworn enemies of Slytherin, don't look down on either of them. They just follow the crowd and look down on Hufflepuff, but when they encounter Slytherin, they fight them to the death.

Hufflepuffs are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, but everyone wants to play with them—just like in video games, many people don't like being a support, but if a support comes over to buff and protect them, they have a lot of fun.

William initially thought that this view in prison was somewhat biased, but last night he truly realized that while the statement might be a bit extreme, it captured the essence very well.

It's fortunate that Professor McGonagall dined at the restaurant last night, otherwise there might have been a fight in the hall.

Slytherins were like they were launching a crossfire, first attacking Gryffindor and then Ravenclaw. Even though the professors were sitting up there, they started throwing black bread around. If Professor McGonagall hadn't stood up and shouted something, they probably would have pulled out their wands.

When Professor McGonagall announced the punishment for the guys who had started the fight, Adams, who was standing nearby, told William why he had done that.

"Many Slytherin students don't care about grades at all. As long as they don't get expelled and graduate smoothly, they can go home and inherit the family fortune. Ravenclaw students used to have higher grades, but yesterday everyone failed. It's no wonder the Slytherin students are mocking them."

“You haven’t been here long, William. The infighting among Slytherin students is more severe than in other houses. In recent years, because Professor Snape was biased, their house grades were high, and they were number one for several years in a row. Last year, they accidentally lost it, and it’s no wonder they are so angry and started arguing.”

……

Although Professor McGonagall suppressed yesterday's incident with force, the students clearly won't stay quiet for long.